SCARY

Former Vibe Editor Recalls Death Threat From Diddy Over Cover Shot

In a new feature, Danyel Smith reflects on being a woman in the music industry in the 1990s—and some scary encounters with Sean Combs.

Former Vibe editor in chief Danyel Smith recalls an alleged death threat and frightening encounter in the office with Sean “Diddy” Combs in a feature for The New York Times Magazine. Smith wrote that after a cover shoot of Combs for Vibe in 1997, the rapper asked to see the pictures before they were published, a request Smith vetoed because it went against the magazine’s editorial policy. Combs allegedly threatened Smith, saying “that he would see me ‘dead in the trunk of a car’” over not seeing the photos. When she held her ground, Smith wrote that Combs then allegedly stalked her at the Vibe office. Smith said Combs was later forced to apologize after she brought in her lawyer, but she added that for years later she blanked out his appearance in her office and her being hustled out a back entrance to escape him.